Plural combustion products generators in ring coaxial with a turbine



Aug. 11, 1959 R. F. ELY 2, 9

PLURAL COMBUSTION PRODUCTS GENERATORS IN RING COAXIAL WITH A TURBINE 'Filed May 6, 1957 ..8 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Robe/2 BYMw Aug. 11, 1959 R F ELY ,898,736

PLURAL COMBUSTION- P BUcTs GENERATORS IN RING COAXIAL WITH A TURBINE Filed May 6, 1957 a Sheets-Sheet 2 Q INVENTOR.

Rode/7 F 5/, BY

R. F. ELY LURAL COMBUSTION PRODUCTS GENERATORS I RING COAXIAL WITH A TURBINE v INVENTOR. BY A 050) [A/ Aug. 11, 1959 R. F. ELY 2,398,736

PLURAL COMBUSTION PRODUCTS GENERATORS m RING COAXIAL WITH A TURBINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed May a, 1957 INVENTOR.

R. F. ELY ON Aug. 11, 1959 2,898,736

PLURAL COMBUSTI PRODUCTS GENERATORS IN RING COAXIAL WITH A TURBINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed May 6, 1957 mmvrom A OAN/ A [4/ BY Aug. 11, 1959 2,898,736

R. F. ELY PLURAL MBUSTION PRODUCTS GENERATORS IN NG COAXIAL WITH A TURBINE Filed May 6, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 9 st "y INVENTOR. P05? Z7 United States Patent PLURAL COMBUSTION PRODUCTS GENERATORS 1N RING COAXIAL WITH A TURBINE Robert F. Ely, Spokane, Wash. Application May 6, 1957, Serial No. 657,217 9 Claims. (Cl. 60-3937) This invention relates to turbines wherein the products of combustion of a fluid fuel in air are directed against arotor in a near tangential direction to turn the rotor. It is the purpose of my invention to provide, in a machine of this character, a novel means for bringing the air needed for combustion to the combustion chamber whereby the rotor and the combustion chamber walls are cooled and the incoming air is heated and compressed. More specifically it is the purpose of my invention to provide a turbine of the character referred to above wherein the rotor of the turbine is tubular and the incomingair for combustion is caused to first pass axially through the rotor from one end. to the other,.then radially outward: and back axially of the rotor over the outer wall of the. combustion chamber tocool this wall, theninwardly and. again axially of the rotor along side walls of. combustion and exhaust chambers to. cool these walls and. outwardly to the combustion. chamber, the air being compressed in a plurality of stages as it travels to the combustion chamber, and being preheatedby the heat extracted from the rotor and from the walls of the com bustionchamber.

According to my invention, I use. a turbine. rotor with pockets in the cylindrical outer surface and direct the gases. of combustion against these pockets in as nearly a -tangential direction as is reasonably possible, to gain fiull. advantage of the velocity of the gasesmoving toward the exhaust. outlets. It is from the velocity head of the gas that the directional rotation of the rotor is obtained, In order to maintain good heat transfer throughout the rotor so it can: be cooled properly, I provide passages throughout the length of the rotor and fill them with a material of high heat conductivitysuch as sodium. I- also contemplate the possibility of further enhancing the cool ing efiect of the incoming air by supplying moisture to it. v The detailed advantages of my invention will appear more fully from the following description and: the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred. embodiment Qffthfi invention. The description and drawings are. illustrative only, however, and various minor structural changes maybe made within the scope of my invention as defined in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the turbine cut open;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken: on a plane including the axis of rotation. of the turbine;

. Figure 3- is a sectional view taken onthe line 3--3 of Fi r 2;.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; a

7 Figure 5 is a sectional view taken. on the line: 5--5 of m Figure. 6 is. a: fragmentary sectional: perspective view taken on the' line 6-6 of Figure 4," i i t Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional, perspective view taken. on. a longi 0f the invention;

tudinal plane through a modified form ing clearance from the passages 8a' to the passages 9a Figure 8 is a view in side elevation of the rotor of the modified form of the invention;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 9--9 of Figure 8; and

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view through a turbine of the modified form taken on the line 10- 10 of Figure 7.

In the drawings my improved turbine is shown as comprising a shell made in a plurality of split sections A, B, C and D for assembly. One section A contains an intake manifold 1 and an exhaust manifold 10. This sections bolts to another section B which contains chambers 4a, that are part of the intake air passage, and a central throat 13 that directs air from the intake manifold 1 to the hollow interior 2 of the rotor 11. The rotor 11 has a sleeve 11a which is fixedly mounted on a shaft 12 that is supported by bearings 12a and 12b in the shell. A mid section C of the shell provides outer air passages 4-, combustion chambers 8 and exhaust chambers 9 with air passages 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4 and 4g that extend lengthwise or axially of the rotor. A fourth section D of the shell is the end plat: which carries the bearing 12b and may mount a reduction gear case 16.

A baffle flange 17 is provided on the mid section C of the shell near the end plate section D. A blower type impeller fan 3 is mounted on the sleeve 11a between the end plate section D and the baffle flange 17. This fan has a back wall 3a, blades 3b curved to force air radially outward and a front wall 3c which extends inward to the inner edge of the baflle flange 17. The fan 3 draws air from the intake manifold 1 through the throat 13, and thecentral passage 2 of the rotor 11. This air is discharged outwardly into the passages 4 at an increased pressure over that in the passage 2. 5

Air from the passages 4 flows inwardly through the chamber 4a and is directed axially of the rotor. again to a fan type compressor 5 which comprises blades 5a formed on the rotor 11. These blades 5a are radial blades set at an acute angle to a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotor 11. They compress the air and force it into the passages 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4 and 4g which extend'between the chambers 8 and 9. The walls of these chambers are thus directly in the path of flow of the air and give up heat to the air to preheat the air and to cool the chamber walls.

The air leaving the passages 4b-'4g is picked up by a fan type'compressor 6 which comprises blades 61: formedon the rotor 11. These blades 6a are set at an acute angle to a plane perpendicular. to the axis of rotation of the: rotor' 11 so as to further compress the now preheated. air. A curved deflecting annular surface 7 on the rotor 11. directs the air outwardly into combustion chambers 8. It will be noted that at the ends of the charm bers! 8 and 9, clearance is left at 5b and 6b between the end 'walls' of these chambers and the fan blades. 51: and

v 6a to allow air flow as the blades 5a and 6a sweep past the end walls.

Fuel injection nozzles 18 extend through the end wall section D, across the outlet from the fan 3 into the chambers: 8. An igniter 19 (preferably a glow plug for i continuousignition, although a spark plug. might be used)- is provided in each chamber 8. The products of combusa tion. in the chambers 8 are directed through outlet passages 8a, which taper gradually, to open upon the peripheral surface of the rotor 11 between the compressors 5 and 6. The pockets .20 on the rotor 11 thus. receive: the

flow of gases direct from the combustion chambers ,8;

i It will be noted that there is clearance between the. rotor 11 and the inwardly facing walls between the passages-8a and the exhaust passages 9a that lead fromthe rotor to the. chambers 9. I makeqthe clearance a practical. work;

to avoid closed pockets and buildup of back pressure against the flow of gases in the passages 8a. The exhaust chambers 9a are open to the exhaust manifold 10 so that once the gases have .passed through the pockets in the rotor 11 they escape readily. All parts of the rotor 11 are given sufficient clearance with respect to the shell so that there are no bearing surfaces except the bearings 12a and 12b. The main body of the rotor 11 is connected to the sleeve 11a by a series of spokes 14.. These spokes preferably are so shaped that they also act to move the air from the throat 13 to the blower fan 3.

The pockets 20 in the rotor 11 may be of any suitable shape to receive the impact of the stream of gas from. passagesiia. They are so arranged that they do not open a free path from the passage 8a to the exhaust passage 9a at once. As a pocket 20 leaves the passage 8a before it opens .upon the exhaust passage 9a it does not ever form an unobstructed path for free flow of the gas from the passage 8a to the passage 9a. In the modification shown in Figures 7 to 10 inclusive, the pockets 20' in the rotor 11 are of a slightly dilferent configuration that has some advantages in manufacture of the rotor. Either form of pocket may be used with the main form of the invention or with the modification. Other forms of rotor pockets may also be used. The design must be such that the impact of the gases that are discharged through the throats 8a and 8a at high velocity can be used to drive the rotor without building up back pressure in the pockets 20 or 20' that would nullify or offset the force imparted to the rotor by the impact of the gases against the faces 21.21 of the pockets 2t) and 2t). When a pocket rnoves past a throat 8a or 8a it opens into the exhaust passage 9a or 9a so that the gas in the pocket is discharged outwardly. The gases created by the burning of fuel in the compressed air in the chambers 8 are expanded as they pass from the pockets into the exhaust passages 9a and the exhaust chambers 9. The flow of the gases is the same in the modified form of the invention shown in Figures 7 to 10 inclusive.

Referring now to Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings it will be noted that the air enters into the central passage 2 from the intake manifold 1 through the throat 13 and is thrown outwardly by the blades 3b of the blower fan 3. This fan thus forces air into the passages 4 and provides a first compression stage for the air. The flow of air through the passage 2 extracts heat from the rotor 11 to help keep it cool.

The air forced into the passages 4 flows through the passage 4a to the fan type compressor where the blades 5a act to further compress the air and to pass heat from the end of the rotor 11 to the air through the blades 5a. The fan 5 provides a second compression stage for the air. The air in flowing through the passages 4 is in heat exchange relation to the outer walls 8c of the combustion chambers 8 and extracts heat from these walls.

The air compressed by the fan 5 is forced through the passages 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4; and 4g all of which are open to the fan 5. It will be observed that there is an open pressure equalizing space 5b between the blades 5a and the adjacent ends of the throats 8a and the exhaust pas sages 9a. The rotor 11 is provided with longitudinally run ning bores 22 throughout its circumference. 'Ihese bores are filled with a sodium or some other good heat conducting material to aid in carrying heat from the pocket areas of the rotor to the rest of the rotor so that cooling by the air may be made as effective as possible.

The air flowing through the passages lb-4g contacts the walls of the threats 8a and the passages 9a to aid in cooling these walls which are subjected to the heat of the burning gases. When the air is discharged from the passages 4b4g it crosses the space 6b to the fan type compressor 6 where the blades 6a provide the third stage of compression for the air. The air leaving the blades 6a is directed outwardly by the curved surface 7 of the rotor 11 and flows past the fuel injection nozzles 18 and 4 igniters 19 into the chambers 8. Since the gases of combustion resulting from the fuel burning in the chambers 8 has a greatly increased volume compared to the air alone the escape velocity of gases leaving the chambers 3 in the throats 8a is quite high. The high velocity jets of gas discharged from the throats Set against the faces 21 of the pockets 20 in the rotor furnish the motive power to keep the rotor turning. The throats 8a are arranged to discharge as nearly at a tangent to the rotor 11 as is practical.

In order to start the turbine it is necessary to bring it up to a relatively high speed by some exterior starter mechanism. This provides the necessary air compression for proper firing of the air fuel mixture in the chambers 8 when the fuel is injected and the igniters are turned on. After that a part of the power delivered to the rotor 11 is used by the rotor to compress the air and to overcome friction losses. The exhaust passages are made large enough to avoid any substantial back pressure in them.

It is possible to obtain added cooling of the rotor and the combustion chambers by adding some water in finely divided state to the air entering the rotor. A diffuser nozzle 23 is shown in Figure 2 for injecting water into the intake manifold from a water supply pipe 24.

My improved turbine has the advantages of providing a three stage compression of the air needed for combustion. From the time the air enters the turbine until the gas comes into contact with the rotor it makes two loops within the turbine shell. The object in having the air pass through the several passages is to keep the turbine cool and to recover in the air, the heat which would otherwise merely overheat the turbine parts. One of the great problems in conventional bladed turbines is to keep the blades from burning when they operate in the gases of combustion. My turbine avoids the use of thin impeller blades exposed to the heat of the gases and provides for conducting the heat away from the gas contacted surfaces to larger surfaces where it can be used to warm up the incoming air.

A further advantage of my turbine is the pocket construction of the rotor. This provides a straight away impact of the gas against the rotor surfaces 21. The gas striking the surfaces 21 is carried immediately by the pockets to the exhaust passage 9a where it escapes with a minimum waste of the gas. The construction is such that the rotor runs entirely free of any contact with the stationary parts except at the bearings 12a and 12b. Adequate clearance is provided all around the rotor to prevent build up of a back pressure to retard its rotation. Some gases may escape but the direction of the high velocity discharge from the throats 8a is always such as to bring the gases to the exhaust and outwardly by centrifugal force.

Another advantage of my turbine construction is that it provides a compact unit that can be utilized as a power unit for vehicles now powered by piston type power units. Greater power capacity can be built into the machine by lengthening the rotor. Increased diameter can be used to increase the power capacity of the turbine. The directing of the high velocity gas against the outer face of the rotor in a direction substantially tangent to the rotor avoids any losses due to directing jets at an angle and eliminates end thrust along the shaft of the rotor. Since all of the air compression and release of gas occurs within the outer shell and the exhaust can be made large enough to allow escape of the exhaust at low velocity and pressure it is relatively easy to provide means around the turbine to insulate against noise.

The principal difference between the modification shown in Figures 7 to 10 and the main form of the invention lies in the way in which the combustion chambers 8 and 8 are arranged. The chambers 8' are provided with radial fuel injection nozzles 18' and the chambers 8 are dome shaped projections that rise outwardly through the passages 4. The rotor 11 is provided with more curvature on the rotor portion 7 to redirect the compressed air from the fan blades 6a into the chamber 8. Also the back wall 3a of the blower type fan 3 is extended and curled over at 30! to deflect the air into the passage 4. These differences and the pockets 20' constitute substantially'all of the differences between the two forms of the invention shown. The main form of the invention obviously could also use the extended curvatures of '7 and 3d of the modification.

It is believedthat the construction and operation of my turbine will be apparent from the foregoing description. Certain advantages have been mentioned. Other advantages are the arrangement of the parts for simplicity in the manufacture and machining of these parts. The construction is such that any part is readily replaced if necessity arises. Axialthrusts are avoided. The readily accessible bearings provide the rotor support. Fine tolerances in machining are not necessary. The number of combustion chambers may be varied. The materials of which the parts are made are not critical. The provisions for cooling make it possible to use relatively inexpensive materials for the parts.

Having thus desoribed my invention, I claim:

1. In a turbine utilizing combustion gas as the motive fluid, a central shaft, a tubular rotor mounted on said shaft, a shell surrounding the rotor with running clearance therebetween and having support bearings for said shaft, a blower fan connected to said shaft in the shell extending across one end of the rotor operable to draw air through the rotor and discharge it outwardly, combustion chambers in said shell around the rotor and having narrow discharge throats extending in a tangential direction toward the rotor periphery and having outlets adjacent the rotor surface, the rotor having faces against which gas discharged through said throats strike to impart a rotative force to the rotor, the shell having exhaust passages opening to said rotor adjacent to said throats and spaced in the direction of travel of said gases out of the throats from the outlets of the throats, said shell having air passages extending from the periphery of the blower fan lengthwise within said shell around said combustion chambers and exhaust passages to the opposite end of the shell and thence inwardly toward the rotor, and additional passages in said shell extending lengthwise of the rotor between the throats and the exhaust passages and thence outwardly into the combustion chambers, fuel nozzles extending into the chambers, fuel igniting means in the chambers, said rotor having compressor blades at one end receiving the air directed inward from said first air passages forcing the air into said additional passages and having compressor blades as its other end forcing the air from said additional passages continuously into the combustion chambers.

2. In a turbine utilizing combustion gas as the motive fluid, a central shaft, a tubular rotor mounted on said shaft, a shell surrounding the rotor with running clearance therebetween and having support bearings for said shaft, an air inlet manifold opening into the rotor, combustion chambers in said shell around the rotor, the chambers having discharge throats for directing gas from the chambers tangentially against the rotor and the rotor having faces against which the gas strikes to impart a rotative force to the rotor, the shell having exhaust passages therein into which gas from said rotor escapes, the shell having air passages therein extending from the interior of the rotor in opposite longitudinal directions around radially inner and outer sides of the chambers and opening into the chambers, and the rotor having air compressing means thereon interposed in said passages at a plurality of points operable to draw air through the rotor from the manifold and compress the air in continuous delivery to said chambers.

3. In a turbine utilizing combustion gas as the motive fluid, a central shaft, a tubular rotor mounted on said shaft, a shell surrounding the rotor with running clearance therebetween and having support bearings for said shaft, an air inlet manifold opening into the rotor, combustion chambers in said shell around the rotor, the chambers having discharge throats for directing gas from the chambers tangentially against the rotor and the rotor having faces against which the gas strikes to impart a rotative force to the rotor, the shell having exhaust passages therein into which gas from said rotor escapes, the shell having air passages therein extending from the interior ofthe rotor around the chambers and opening into the chambers, and the rotor having air compressing means thereon interposed in said passages at a plurality of points operable to draw air through the rotor from the manifold and compress .the air in continuous delivery to said chambers, the said air passages extending in an axial direction between the discharge throats and the exhaust passages whereby to absorb heat therefrom into the air before it enters the combustion chambers.

4. The machine defined in claim 2 wherein said. means comprises fan blades on the rotor extending radially of the rotor at both ends thereof.

5. The machine defined in claim 2. wherein the said air compressing means are connected in series by. pertions. of said air passages that extend axially of the rotor alongside said chambers to absorb part of the heat of combustion into the air before it reaches the combustion chambers.

6. In a turbine utilizing combustion gas as the motive fluid, a central shaft, a tubular rotor mounted on said shaft, a shell surrounding the rotor with running clear ance therebetween and having support hearings for said shaft, an air inlet manifold opening into the rotor, combustion chambers in said shell around the rotor, the chambers having discharge throats for directing gas from the chambers tangentially against the rotor and the rotor having faces against which the gas strikes to impart a rotative force to the rotor, the shell having exhaust passages therein into which gas from said rotor escapes, the shell having air passages therein extending from the interior of the rotor in opposite longitudinal directions around radially inner and outer sides of the chambers and opening into the chambers, and fans affixed to the rotor operable to draw air through the rotor and compress the air in stages while forcing it through said pas sages in continuous delivery to said chambers.

7. A turbine comprising a shell, a tubular rotor mounted in bearings in said shell and having running clearance Within all parts of said shell, one end of said shell having an air inlet into said rotor and the other end of said shell being closed, a radial discharge blower fan on said rotor at the closed end of said shell receiving air through the rotor from said inlet, longitudinal air passages in said shell from the periphery of said blower fan to the inlet end of said shell, combustion chambers in said shell between said rotor and said longitudinal air passages having narrow discharge throats directed tangentially toward said rotor, said rotor having faces in the path of gas jets from said throats to turn the rotor, exhaust passages in said shell between said rotor and said longitudinal air passages and distributed in a circumferential direction between said combustion chambers and throats, said exhaust passages communicating with said rotor, an exhaust manifold on said inlet end of said shell connected with said exhaust passages, additional longitudinal air passages in said shell between said throats and exhaust passages communicating at the inlet end of said shell with said first longitudinal passages and communicating at the closed end of said shell with said combustion chambers, and axial flow fans on said rotor at both ends of said additional passages arranged to deliver said air from said inlet continuously to said combustion chambers.

8. A turbine comprising a shell, a tubular impulse rotor mounted in bearings in said shell and having running clearance within all parts of said shell, one end of said shell having an air inlet into'the center of said rotor and the other end of said shell being closed, an exhaust manifold on said inlet end of said shell concentric with said inlet, combustion chambers in said shell having discharge throats directed tangentially toward said rotor, exhaust passages in said shell communicating with said rotor between said throats and connected with said exhaust manifold, longitudinal air passages between said shell and said combustion chambers and exhaust passages for conveying .air from the center of said rotor at said closed end of said shell to said inlet end of said shell, longitudinal passages for conveying said air between said throats and exhaust passages toward said closed end of said shell, said last longitudinal passages being connected with said combustion chambers, and a plurality of fan stages on said rotor communicating with said longitudinal passages for driving said air continuously into said combustion chambers.

9. A turbine comprising a shell, a tubular impulse rotor mounted in bearings in said shell and having running clearance within all parts of said shell, combustion chambers in said shell having discharge throats directed tangentially toward said rotor, exhaust passages in said shell communicating with said rotor between said throats,

a first fan stage on saidrotor and passages in said shell arranged to draw in air through the center of the rotor and pass said .air lengthwise of the shell from end to end thereof over the radially outer surfaces of said combustion chambers and exhaust passages, a second fan stage on said rotor and passages in said shell arranged to pass said air in the opposite direction lengthwise of the shell between said throats and exhaust passages, and a third fan stage on said rotor and passages in said shell arranged to pass said air continuously into said combustion chambers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 800,684 Schneider Oct. 3, 1905 2,579,321 Kadenacy Dec. 18, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 290,014 Great Britain May 10, 1928 OTHER REFERENCES The American Inventor, April, 1906, vol. 15, No. 4, page 101. 

